Packaging of drinking straws

Abstract

Apparatus for packaging of drinking straws. A cylinder having notches extending longitudinally thereof is positioned at the lower end of a hopper for the straws. The hopper has a supply conduit terminating in an outlet closely overlying the surface of the cylinder. The straws pass into the supply conduit in parallel horizontal positions to define an endless column. A feed mechanism compresses the straws within the supply conduit so that individual straws are forcefully engaged with the notches in the cylinder. A first web is fed onto the periphery of the cylinder in overlying relation to the notches and when a notch, covered by the first web, moves into alignment with the outlet of the supply conduit, a lowermost straw is forced from the supply conduit into the notch while deforming the web to the general configuration of the notch. A second web is fed into overlying relation with respect to the cylinder and the first web to hold the straws depressed within the notches until edges of the webs are bonded together.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An apparatus for the manufacture of a sheet constituted by a first and second strip of flexible material enclosing a series of tubes therbetween, said tubes having ends and being in the form of lightweight hollow members, said apparatus comprising an endless member with a surface defining parallel recesses each capable of receiving a tube, said endless member having an axis of rotation, means for rotating the endless member continuously about said axis of rotation, means for bringing the first strip of flexible material into contact with said surface of the endless member over a sector of the path of the endless member, means for distributing the tubes including a supply conduit in which the tubes form a column of tubes, said column having a lower end which is parallel to the recesses, means for pushing said column of tubes through the conduit in the direction of said surface, and in which the supply conduit has an outlet which opens out in the immediate vicinity of the surface of the endless member at one point of said sector, so that the tube present at the outlet of the conduit and in contact with the first strip is forced into the recess of the endless member which passes below said outlet thus pushing the first strip into the recess and is immediately replaced by the next tube in the column, means for causing the second strip of flexible material to overlap the first strip downstream of said outlet in the direction of rotation of the endless member, and rotary heated wheels and a guide, said wheels permanently touch the two overlapping strips by toothed heated tracks, the rotation of the wheels being synchronized with that of the endless member so that the tubes are located between the heated teeth and the first and second strips are welded one to the other in regions which surround the ends of the tubes, the guide being located on a portion of said sector between the outlet of said supply conduit and the heated wheels and being employed to keep the two strips pressed one against the other between said outlet and said wheels. 
     
     
       2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which the strips are entrained by the heated wheels. 
     
     
       3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which each recess has a length less than that of a tube so that the tube projects from the recess at each end, and in which the heated wheels comprise two pairs, the wheels of each pair defining a gap therebetween through which passes one edge of the sheet constituted by the two strips, the two pairs being located respectively on the right and left of the endless member. 
     
     
       4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which the endless member is a cylinder. 
     
     
       5. An apparatus for the packaging of staws and like lightweight tubular members, said apparatus including a cylinder, means mounting said cylinder for rotation about an axis, drive means connected to said cylinder for continuously rotating said cylinder, said cylinder having a peripheral surface provided with uniformly spaced axially extending like notches, said notches being dispersed parallel to said axis and of a radial depth slightly greater than the diameter of the lightweight tubular members, a hopper for the tubular members radially spaced from said cylinder, a columnar supply conduit extending radially between said hopper and said cylinder, said supply conduit receiving a plurality of tubular members to form a column of tubular members in said conduit and having an outlet immediately above said cylinder for supplying the tubular members being positioned parallel to said axis and to said notches, a means for supplying a first deformable web to the surface of said cylinder in advance of said supply conduit and in overlying relation to those of said notches advancing toward said supply conduit, means for pushing at least a portion of said column of tubular members to forceably discharge a tubular member from the outlet to deform said web into an underlying one of said notches, means for supplying a second deformable web to the periphery of said cylinder in overlying relation to said first deformable web immediately downstream of said supply conduit for cooperation with said first deformable web and for holding said tubular members in said notches, and sealing means for sealing together edge portions of said webs axially beyond the ends of said tubular members and between the ends of said tubular members. 
     
     
       6. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein said sealng means includes a pair of cooperating wheels positioned adjacent each end of said cylinder. 
     
     
       7. Apparatus according to claim 6 including a guide disposed radially of said cylinder and positioned between said supply conduit and said sealing means, said guide for holding said webs together. 
     
     
       8. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein said notches open through ends of said cylinder, and wherein said supply conduit is of a dimension in the direction of said axis of cylinder rotation greater than the length of said cylinder with said supply conduit outlet being centered axially relative to said cylinder to place the tubular members in said notches with each end of a tubular member projecting beyond ends of said cylinder, and said sealing means includes a pair of cooperating wheels positioned axially beyond said cylinder at each end of said cylinder. 
     
     
       9. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein said means for forceably discharging the tubular members from said supply conduit includes rotary brush means positioned alongside said supply conduit for engaging the tubular members in said supply conduit. 
     
     
       10. Apparatus according to claim 9 including means cooperating with said hopper to forceably feed tubular members from said hopper into said supply conduit. 
     
     
       11. Apparatus according to claim 5 including guide means for said second web to guide said second web adjacent one side of said supply conduit.